Eco no m ic D e v e lop me nt S t r at e gy
Introduction
This Economic Development Strategy addresses transportation, housing, and land use issues
and actions expected to impact economic development in Aloha-Reedville through an overarching
strategy. This report includes pertinent background information gathered in the initial phase of the
Aloha-Reedville Study and Livable Community Plan (“Aloha-Reedville study”) summarizes concerns
and desires expressed by residents through submitted comments and during public engagement
events and activities conducted over the past three years, and cross-references concurrent action
items and issue papers. This information was synthesized with a series of interviews, case studies, and research on best practices to offer a strategy and series of recommendations for moving
forward to achieve the type of community residents would like to see in the future.
• Central location. Aloha-Reedville is located between Hillsboro and Beaverton, two areas of
What are the issues
• Potential for growth. The market reconnaissance conducted in association with the Aloha-
What does Economic Development mean?
Economic development is one of those broad terms that can mean different things to different
people depending upon their background and perspective. For some, it may mean business
recruitment and job creation, for others it may mean developing new buildings on vacant land. For
the purpose of this document, economic development is used broadly to incorporate the promotion
of quality of life and the economic health of the area. This quality of life will be achieved through a
diverse range of projects and investments described in the Aloha-Reedville study, ranging from new
housing, commercial revitalization, streetscape improvements, pedestrian safety improvements, to
other actions that can positively benefit the community. Economic development typically requires
an organizational structure and/or an advocate to carry forth policy and actions that can effect the
desired change. Great places rarely happen by accident; there are usually dedicated champions,
programs, and strategies in place to help guide development over time.
The following section summarizes key issues and trends that have been identified throughout the
Aloha-Reedville study and that shape the strategic recommendations described later in this report.
Economic Condition and Trends
• Evolution of development. Aloha-Reedville has traditionally served as a bedroom community to the Portland Metro area’s westside. It has seen rapid development over the past 20
years, mainly in suburban residential and auto-centric commercial development patterns.
What started out as a semi-rural farming community has evolved into a mostly built-out suburban community. The surrounding areas of Hillsboro, Beaverton, and the Sunset Corridor,
meanwhile, have evolved into major regional centers of economic activity.
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concentrated employment and commercial use. Being centrally located between these two
cities can be both an opportunity and a weakness. Many large companies and national tenants will want to be close to existing commercial areas in Hillsboro or Beaverton rather than
Aloha. However, Aloha-Reedville may attract small supplier firms, start-ups, or local-serving
businesses that can take advantage of the study area’s proximity to nearby employment
centers.
• Service driven. Aloha-Reedville’s economy is largely service-driven, supporting local residents and nearby employers.
Reedville study showed that the most likely potential for growth in the area would include
opportunities for retail and services for local and neighboring communities. These types of
businesses include professional services (e.g., legal services, architects, software engineering, or accounting), construction , cottage industries (e.g., small-scale manufacturing done
at home, such as making jewelry or apparel), restaurants, convenience stores, small-format
retail, medical services (including services for the aging population), branch banks, real
estate offices, and personal services.
• Ethnically and racially diverse. Consistent with state and regional demographics, AlohaReedville is predominantly Caucasian but grew more diverse over the past 20 years and has
greater diversity among its population than Washington County or the state. The percentage
of Hispanics in Aloha-Reedville is double that of the Portland Metro region. There are many
ethnic stores and restaurants located in Aloha that provide a unique range of offerings in the
region.
• Lower incomes and educational attainment. The Aloha area’s median household income
is lower than Washington County’s median household income but higher than the state’s.
Aloha-Reedville has fewer residents with a Bachelor’s degree and more residents without a
high school diploma than the county, metro region, or state.
• Policy and support. There is currently very little policy and no dedicated staff or financial
resources for economic development programs at the county level. Current policy does not
allow the dedication of countywide resources to a specific portion of the county. Financial
support for economic development in Aloha beyond the county’s normal allocation of
resources will have to find outside sources of funding or look to leverage funding from other
agency efforts. The cities of Hillsboro and Beaverton provide economic development staff
and fund programs to those incorporated parts of the county within their jurisdictions, giving
them an advantage over unincorporated areas.
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Housing Conditions and Trends
• Housing condition and affordability. Compared to the region, Aloha-Reedville has larger
households, is younger, has fewer college graduates, and has slightly lower incomes. Over
the years it has largely provided affordable home options for area residents. While homes
are modest, their conditions are generally good. The same goes for the area’s regulated affordable housing stock. Nevertheless, affordability remains a challenge for many and several
gaps have been identified, including a small supply of larger homes, relatively few apartments, and deficits in housing affordable to several income groups.
• Demographic changes. The future will be shaped by major economic and demographic
shifts happening at a national and global scale. Among the biggest of these are the Baby
Boomers and Generation Y (also known as the Echo Boomers, born from the late 1970s to
2000). Both are driving demand for smaller homes, more rentals, and greater connectivity to
amenities and services, especially by foot, bike, and transit. Communities that provide this
environment will be the ones that appreciate in value and attract and retain young and old
people alike.
• Housing opportunities. As noted above, there is an opportunity to add a more diverse mix
of housing to the area. Like most of the Portland metro region, apartment rental vacancy
rates for Beaverton, Aloha, and Hillsboro are currently below a healthy and normal turnover rate of five percent. Apartment construction and rehabilitation is currently taking place
throughout the region.
• Competition. Given the higher costs to do infill development, more development is expected
in South Hillsboro and AmberGlen where larger greenfield developments can take advantage of economies of scale. The infill housing market will likely migrate to higher density and
service-rich neighborhoods that can support the higher sales price or rents needed to justify
the higher construction costs.
Land Use Conditions
• Lack of infrastructure. Many areas in Aloha-Reedville lack sidewalks and stormwater
management facilities, adding additional costs to infill development. Infill is more likely to
occur in neighborhoods with existing infrastructure, not those lacking sidewalks or other
critical infrastructure which would have to be paid for and installed at the time of development. Interviews with property owners indicate that this has stopped interested parties from
developing in the area in the past.
• Amenities are important. The more amenities an area has—access to restaurants, shops,
grocery stores, employment opportunities, and multiple transit options—the more people
will be willing to pay to live there and the likelihood for infill development will be greater. Residents have voiced a desire for more amenities in the area.
• Redevelopment—not greenfield development. Aloha-Reedville is largely built out and is in
a mature development phase, where new development will be more incremental and there
will be greater demand to maintain and redevelop existing commercial, industrial, and employment areas. Commercial growth will largely need to take place on existing commercial
land through selective infill and redevelopment.
• Land assembly. Smaller infill parcel development is costly because the developer loses ef-
ficiencies of scale realized through large developments.
Assembling multiple sites for large scale development
can be very time consuming and risky and most developers would not be willing to undertake those risks
in the study area. Some assistance and strategies to
assemble land may be necessary in key locations.
• Future growth. Recent Urban Growth Boundary expansions nearby and adjacent to the Aloha-Reedville study
area, like South Hillsboro and South Cooper Mountain, may have several impacts on the area, including
increased demand for services along Aloha-Reedville’s
commercial corridors, possible support for enhanced
transit service, increased housing options, but also
increased traffic.
Transportation Conditions
• Tualatin Valley (TV) Highway. The TV Highway corridor
defines the area to a large extent. It has many aging
commercial buildings and significant pedestrian and
bicycling safety challenges. A recent and concurrent
plan for the TV Highway Corridor has identified several
roadway improvement projects that will likely be funded
and constructed over the next 10 years.
• Safety challenges. Roughly one-third of all fatal and
serious injury crashes along the TV Highway corridor
involved a bicycle or pedestrian. A high frequency area
for bike and pedestrian accidents lies along TV Highway between SW 170th Avenue and SW198th Avenue,
the full extent of which is within the designated town
center area.
• Resident concerns. Aloha-Reedville residents expressed concerns over gaps in sidewalk coverage, lack
of streetlights, access to transit, bicycle safety issues,
lack of adequate pedestrian crosswalks on TV Highway,
traffic congestion, and adequate access to commercial
properties.
• Rail. The location of the Portland and Western Railroad
line creates challenges for transportation improvements
and the ability to improve street design on the south
side of TV Highway. It creates a barrier to creating
connections to neighborhoods on the south side of TV
Highway, where residents have limited options to cross
the rail line to access TV Highway or transit.
South Hillsboro
In October of 2011, the Metro
council approved the addition of 1,060 acres of urban
reserve land into the Urban
Growth Boundary (UGB).
This land, combined with the
previously added Areas 69
and 71, makes up an area of
approximately 1,400 acres just
southwest of Aloha-Reedville,
known as South Hillsboro
(SoHi). According to the Conditions of Approval from Metro
guiding the residential density,
the entire SoHi area would
have an adjusted residential
unit capacity of 11,250 dwelling units at 100% build out.
South Hillsboro is planned as
a complete, mixed-use community, emphasizing schools,
civic and open spaces, parks
trails and natural areas, and
public gathering areas. SoHi
is designed around a town
center along the Tualatin
Valley Highway and neighborhood center along the
proposed extension of Cornelius Pass Road. The City is
currently conducting a Master
Plan process that will define
the location and design of
roads, parks, natural areas,
and other key features in
greater detail, and is expected
to be complete in the spring
of 2014.
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Community Input
The following section synthesizes the ideas and opinions associated with community livability and
future improvements of business and retail areas gleaned from the Aloha-Reedville study process.
Ten key “threads” of thought relevant to future planning for economic development, especially as it
applies to commercial areas, emerged and are summarized below.
• Consider the demand for community gathering places. The need for community gathering
places was frequently raised. Ideas included: gathering places that could provide an opportunity for outdoor entertainment (music, festivals, etc.); a community center that might provide a
place for public meetings, classes, and entertainment and recreation for families; and a senior
center with services and activities in proximity to appropriate housing types for seniors.
• Provide a mix of family-friendly entertainment options. Residents showed a desire for a
variety of businesses and entertainment options in one convenient location or in close proximity to each other—a more concentrated shopping area with small retail stores and great
places to gather for food or entertainment.
• Complete and connected safe sidewalks, trails, bicycle facilities, and transit options.
Community members would like to safely walk or ride their bicycles to shopping and entertainment options with their families and have safer access to public transit. They expressed
concerns over gaps in sidewalk coverage, access to transit, lighting, lack of adequate
pedestrian crosswalks, and access to schools.
• Support small, local businesses. Comments indicate that the small, locally-owned businesses in Aloha and Reedville are an important asset with a lot of support. Some residents have
stated that small, local businesses are also sources of good jobs within the community.
• Include healthy food options. A large number of comments supported the provision of
healthy food options and better access to fresh produce within the community. Establishment of a farmers market was a frequently raised example .
• Maintain a small town feel. Many community members treasure the small town feel of the
area. There is an appreciation for the shopping and amenities that neighboring communities like Beaverton and Hillsboro provide, but there is some concern that Aloha-Reedville will
develop into an identical community. The support for small, local businesses relates to this
comment thread as well.
• Encourage attractive business and retail areas. The Aloha-Reedville community has been
very vocal in their desire to improve the aesthetics of business centers in the area, especially
along TV Highway. Many comments have focused on the need to update buildings and address vacant storefronts in commercial areas. In addition, community feedback has focused
on the need for more trees, attractive landscaping, and streetscape improvements.
• Improve community signage. Related to the previous comment thread, many community
members indicated there is a lack of community and neighborhood identity—a lack of a
sense of place. How do you know where you are, that you’ve arrived, or how to get to community resources, locations, or services? Some indicated that TV Highway is the “front door”
to Aloha—but that it could be communicated better.
• Explore development of housing in business and retail areas. There was much discus-
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sion about the mutually-beneficial relationship between housing, business, and retail uses.
Closer proximity of these uses may support increased business activity and convenient for
community members who would like to live closer to shopping and places of employment.
• Link centers of business and retail activity to each other. Community members noted the
different roles played by Aloha-Reedville’s commercial centers and their different and distinguishing characteristics (center of commerce, hub of activity, a place that hosted special
events, etc.). Providing better linkages in terms of informational/directional signage and in
terms of safe and convenient access from one to another was also desired.
Analysis
This section gives a brief description of the analysis and methodology undertaken throughout the
Aloha-Reedville Study and Livable Community Plan to develop an economic development strategy
that addresses existing conditions and residents’ concerns and aspirations and that fits within current policy parameters.
• Developer interviews. The consultant team conducted a series of stakeholder interviews
with developers, property owners, and others knowledgeable about economic development,
commercial and housing development, and the Aloha-Reedville area to understand some of
the barriers, constraints, and opportunities for growth and investment in Aloha.
• Case studies and best practices. Research was conducted regarding best practices and approaches used by other counties and communities to give a range of the potential solutions,
funding strategies, organizational models, and other innovations that support implementation.
• SW 185th Avenue and TV Highway Framework Plan. During this final phase of the plan, the
project team conducted additional research and analysis to develop a Town Center Framework Plan, with a vision and set of action items that will set the stage for a Town Center
Refinement Plan to help guide redevelopment of the town center.
• Engage housing, land use, and transportation teams. The consultants engaged the housing, land use, and transportation staff and consultants in several workshops to share ideas,
understand pertinent issues, address the interrelationships between each discipline, and to
form strategies for future consideration.
• Interviews with County Commissioners. The consultant team engaged County Commissioners, department heads, and staff to gauge the level of interest and support for various strategies and programs in order to narrow the range of potential future programs and actions.
So, what does it all mean?
• First of all, the changes and challenges impacting Aloha-Reedville are not unlike those facing many other communities. Meanwhile, there is a sense of community that is very strong.
• Housing affordability will continue to be a challenge. Despite its relative affordability, there
are economic and physical barriers to providing housing that is affordable to a range of
household incomes. A proactive strategy and a mixture of public and private financing tools
will be needed to ensure that there is an affordable mix of rental and ownership housing that
is adequate for the incomes and household sizes of Aloha-Reedville residents.
• Housing needs for future generations are changing. The type of housing on the ground
today may not be well matched for future generations. Single-family homes in existing neighborhoods will continue to be desirable for some households. There will be a much greater
demand for multifamily housing (especially in close proximity to transit) in the future and
accessibility to transit, shopping, and services will need to be enhanced for the area to be a
competitive location for future residents.
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• Employment and commercial growth in Aloha-Reedville will require active strategies to
encourage redevelopment along the corridors. There is virtually no vacant and very little
underutilized commercial land in the area. Low commercial rents make it very challenging
for existing uses to redevelop since rents would need to be raised well above neighboring
properties to cover the cost of redevelopment.
• Aloha-Reedville’s location between Hillsboro and Beaverton is both an opportunity and a
challenge. Many large companies will want to be close to existing employment areas in Hillsboro or Beaverton rather than Aloha-Reedville where there are no significant employment
concentrations outside of the commercial corridors (with the Intel campus being an exception). However, small supplier firms or startups that can take advantage of the study area’s
central location between Hillsboro and Beaverton could be attracted to the area. These
could include food production, cabinet or furniture manufacturing, apparel manufacturing,
businesses associated with existing firms west of Portland such as parts suppliers, or other
small-scale production.
Strategy and Recommendations
Given what has been heard from the community, the issues described above, and the planning
work accomplished to date, this section sets forth a set of recommendations to improve economic
conditions in the Aloha-Reedville area. The strategies recognize that the future will not look like the
past—growth in Aloha-Reedville will be slower, it will be more concentrated in infill and redevelopment, and it will be shaped by major economic and demographic trends.
Economic Development Implementation and Planning
Many of the actions identified during this study and desired by the community will not happen
on their own. In order for projects to be realized, they need an implementing body with the
knowledge, budget, and authority to carry them out. An economic development implementation
organization can take many forms, but no matter the form, the organization should be charged with
implementing the actions needed to achieve the envisioned future community, as expressed by the
residents of Aloha-Reedville throughout this study.
• Specifically, the town center area (currently identified at SW 185th and TV Highway) will
require a concerted effort if it is to achieve the Metro 2040 Growth Concept’s targets attributable to town centers. While this area is well located to serve the greater Aloha-Reedville area
and has good transportation access, it will not likely redevelop intensely on its own.
• These efforts indicate a need for collaboration with surrounding communities and employers to integrate Aloha-Reedville with Hillsboro’s and Beaverton’s economic development
strategies.
• Multimodal transportation connectivity (bike, pedestrian, auto, and transit) will be key to
achieving multiple objectives. It will provide better access to services for neighborhoods,
it will provide better access to regional jobs for tomorrow’s families, and it will help reduce
household transportation costs, an important factor in overall housing affordability.
• The pool of available public resources is shrinking. Public funding for infrastructure projects,
for revitalization, housing, and for services is shrinking, yet demands and needs continue to
grow. Aloha-Reedville will need to carefully plan and leverage available resources in order to
secure them in the first place and maximize their impact over time.
• Without intervention, the Aloha-Reedville community will likely remain as it is, with continued
decline in market opportunities, particularly in relation to existing surrounding areas and
expected growth areas.
For a truly sustainable implementation program to be successful, and one that effectively leverages projects across different disciplines, a management structure must be in place to coordinate
projects, communicate with stakeholders, and support implementation.
The term “economic development implementation” can have a number of meanings. While it can
often mean actively recruiting businesses to a targeted area, it can also mean simply coordinating the activities and investments of many different players, which is the meaning used here. An
example list of activities and services that could fall within the purview of an economic coordination
and implementation structure includes:
• Development, monitoring, and implementation of economic development vision and work plan.
• Grant writing.
• Marketing, branding, and promotion.
• Forming and facilitating partnerships (public-private, public-public, and private-private).
• Identification of funding sources.
• Joint venture and sharing of resources on projects.
• Event planning and coordination.
• Representing the community in policy, multi-jurisdictional, and regional issues.
• Land acquisition and assembly.
• Project/property development and redevelopment.
• Planning/managing/administering storefront/façade improvement program.
• Potential role in identifying, designing, funding, and constructing streetscape and other
public improvements.
• Possible participation in urban renewal planning, programming, and administration.
Washington County currently does not provide coordinated economic development implementation
services, as that is typically a function of cities. Some of these services are provided for specific
projects in the county by certain departments, but no single structure exists that would provide for
dedicated implementation support for Aloha-Reedville across all of these disciplines. Furthermore,
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it is county policy that resources (general fund dollars) not be spent on area-specific programs.
This means that new funding must be found to support a program where the county would provide
internal staff support for a coordinating implementation organization.
Currently, there is no funding or policy basis in place to support a county-led implementation
organization. This may change in the future; therefore several models of implementation that could
be considered are discussed in more detail in the Economic Development Implementation and
Planning, Issue Paper # 41.
Vibrant Town Center
The community has identified five high use commercial centers that could be redeveloped to better
suit the needs of the community and provide gathering places, create more housing opportunities,
be a source of community pride, and serve as a place to take visitors. The area around the intersection of SW 185th Avenue and TV Highway is currently designated as a Town Center under Metro’s
2040 Growth Concept. Metro and Washington County have identified a need to prepare a longrange conceptual master plan for growth, development, and redevelopment of the town center over
a long-term planning horizon—no such plan exists at this time. Therefore, to leverage this broader
planning effort and because this particular location has a greater chance of attracting regional
funding for implementation, the planning team developed an initial Framework Plan for the SW 185th
Avenue and TV Highway area that can be the precursor to a more detailed Town Center Refinement
Plan. The process used and the lessons learned at this location could be applied to the other commercial centers in the future.
Preparation of a town center plan, like many other community planning efforts, requires a time and
resource-intensive process of research, alternatives development, public and stakeholder engagement, alternative selection, and preparation of an implementation strategy for carrying out the plan.
Accordingly, the long-range planning for the SW 185th Avenue and TV Highway commercial area is
being phased in order to capture as much momentum as possible from the Aloha-Reedville study.
In this initial framework plan phase, the key foundation of the plan was established, including:
• The vision and desired outcomes for how the town center should look, feel, and function as
Urban Renewal
Urban renewal can be a powerful tool for economic development and redevelopment in a specific
area. It provides a funding mechanism and an organizational structure for implementation that
facilitates a sustainable implementation structure for up to 20 years. While urban renewal is typically
initiated by cities, it is legal and possible for a county to create an urban renewal area. Clackamas
County provides a good example of an Oregon county that has done this.
Several interviews were conducted along with a high level analysis of a potential urban renewal
area in Aloha, which is discussed in detail in the Urban Renewal Issue Paper #37. At this time the
county is not considering the creation of an urban renewal area. However, should the county decide
to explore urban renewal in the future this issue paper provides a starting point for reopening
that discussion. Additionally, there are grants that could potentially be used to conduct a detailed
feasibility study and to create the plan and report that forms an urban renewal area, which are also
mentioned in the issue paper.
Funding Tools
Many of the changes desired by the Aloha-Reedville community, such as the revitalization of TV
Highway, new sidewalks, lighting improvements, more diverse and affordable housing types, open
spaces, connections, and other projects require funding not currently available in the county’s budget. Under current policy, the county will not use funds to the advantage of one specific area like
Aloha-Reedville without considering the impacts to the rest of the unincorporated county. Therefore,
additional funding sources will need to become available if identified projects are to move forward.
The Funding Tools Issue Paper #36, discusses a robust package of tools that could be used for
specific projects in Aloha-Reedville without tapping into county-wide funding.
Funding should not be an afterthought to the planning process. The discussion of funding options
should happen concurrently with the discussion of potential projects – a parallel track. It is critical
to connect plan elements to potential funding sources so that planners and the community have a
realistic understanding of what projects are possible, and on what timeline. It is for this reason that
this discussion on funding tools has been part of the discussion since the beginning.
it evolves over the next 20 to 30 years.
• The key concepts around which initial implementing actions and a more detailed, secondphase refinement plan would be based.
• Initial projects, actions, and partnerships to be pursued to initiate momentum toward realizing envisioned growth.
Detailed information can be found in the SW 185th Avenue and TV Highway Commercial Area
Framework Plan, which is included as part of the final package of documents of the Aloha-Reedville
Study and Livable Community Plan. Ideally an economic development organization would be
responsible for taking charge of the plan, seeking funding for the refinement plan and implementation of the action items suggested in the plan. Unfortunately, the county has not designated any
such organization or seed funding to carry out these action items at this time. At a minimum this will
require some staff time to pursue grant funds for the Town Center Refinement Plan.
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Given the issues facing Aloha-Reedville and the funding shortfalls facing the region and nation,
it will be critical to combine multiple funding tools into packages and to complement them with
partnerships tailored to the specific projects the community decides to pursue. All project funding
strategies will require dedicated community leadership, public and private organizational capacity,
and time investments from county staff and community residents.
Especially in the current economic climate, funding is a challenge. Many of the funding tools currently being used are already committed to other projects (if not overcommitted). At the federal
level, many funding programs, especially for housing, have suffered significant budget cuts over the
past few years and some may be in danger of losing funding completely. Therefore, it is critical to
consider the following points during the discussion of funding tools:
• Projects will be interlinked. Transportation supports housing and economic development,
and vice-versa. Funding packages will similarly be interlinked, and in many cases, funding
tools will support multiple project types, leveraging one project with another, requiring funding packages, not just single tools.
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• Leverage funding. Coordinating and interlinking projects will help to leverage public and
private funding tools and increase competitiveness in grant applications. Plus – it’s just good
business, good government, and a reality of the new normal: doing more with less.
• Objective criteria. It is critical to have a set of objective criteria by which to identify the
high-priority projects that should receive the limited available funding. Projects should be
evaluated on criteria such as job creation, housing support, leveraging capacity, connection
to other projects, community support, developer interest, and many others.
Funding tools will be needed for several types of investments including affordable housing, transportation and mobility improvements, and economic development and revitalization.
Concurrent Issue Papers
Each department is working on a set of issue papers which will be brought forward to the County
Board of Commissioners in early 2014. Whereas the strategies discussed above will require longterm and ongoing implementation, this section discusses short-term actions that will advance
economic development in the area and briefly explains the importance of each.
Conclusion
Implementation of the housing, land use, economic development, and transportation goals of the
Aloha-Reedville Study and Livable Community Plan all can be viewed under a common lens of enhancing quality of life, which is in itself a fundamental part of economic development. From a jobs
and investment perspective, this study has identified several areas where housing, transportation,
and land use changes could enhance opportunities for redevelopment and investment in AlohaReedville’s commercial centers and corridors in ways that provide a greater range of amenities to
serve existing and future residents. The strategic recommendations noted here, when combined
with the specific actions in the land use, transportation, and housing issue papers, will help lay the
groundwork for a broad-based implementation effort that removes barriers to investment, addresses immediate needs for safety and landscape improvements, and allows Aloha-Reedville to “get
ready” for future growth and demographic change.
Transportation
There are numerous issue papers regarding transportation, such as addressing crossing improvements, accessways, completing major streets, and coordination with the TV Highway Corridor Plan
developed by ODOT. Additionally, there are two concurrent plans underway addressing transportation needs: The Bike and Pedestrian Plan and The Corridor and Streetscape Plan. All of these will
have strong economic development benefits for Aloha-Reedville, especially where funding and
construction of road projects can be leveraged to provide additional amenities such as gateways,
street lighting, and streetscape improvements, or they at least set the stage for these improvements
in the future.
Housing
There are also several issue papers regarding housing, and a Housing Equity Plan is currently
underway. These can have economic development benefits, especially where mixed-use projects
can be encouraged in commercial areas or where ADUs can be allowed to increase the diversity of
housing products. Infill and mixed-use housing developments help support existing businesses and
can be used to help revitalize and invigorate deteriorating commercial corridors.
Land Use
There are also several issue papers regarding land use. Actions to help reduce regulatory barriers,
such as allowing farmers markets in more locations with lower costs, or to allow mixed-use projects
to increase the variety of housing, will be particularly beneficial to economic development in the
area. Interviews with developers and property owners surfaced several concerns regarding the
clarity of regulations, ease of permitting, and cost of infrastructure improvements. Existing market conditions in Aloha-Reedville make the financial feasibility of (re)development difficult, so any
changes that help reduce barriers and streamline the permitting process will help reduce costs and
make development more likely to occur.
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